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An A-Z Index of the Linux BASH command line

A

alias    Create an alias

at       Runs commands at specified time

atq      Lists pending commands / jobs for current user

atrm     Cancels pending jobs

awk      Find and Replace text within file(s)

B

batch    Runs commands when system load permits (load below 0.8)

break    Exit from a loop

builtin  Run a shell builtin

C

cal      Display a calendar

case     Conditionally perform a command

cat      Display the contents of a file

cd       Change Directory

cfdisk   Partition table manipulator for Linux

chgrp    Change group ownership

chmod    Change access permissions

chown    Change file owner and group

chroot   Run a command with a different root directory

cksum    Print CRC checksum and byte counts

clear    Clear terminal screen

cmp      Compare two files

comm     Compare two sorted files line by line

command  Run a command - ignoring shell functions

continue Resume the next iteration of a loop

cp       Copy one or more files to another location

cron     Daemon to execute scheduled commands

crontab  Schedule a command to run at a later time

csplit   Split a file into context-determined pieces

cut      Divide a file into several parts

D

date     Display or change the date & time

dc       Desk Calculator

dd       Data Dump - Convert and copy a file

declare  Declare variables and give them attributes

df       Display free disk space

diff     Display the differences between two files

diff3    Show differences among three files

dir      Briefly list directory contents

dircolors Colour setup for `ls'

dirname  Convert a full pathname to just a path

dirs     Display list of remembered directories

du       Estimate file space usage

E

echo     Display message on screen

ed       A line-oriented text editor (edlin)

egrep    Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression

eject    Eject CD-ROM

enable   Enable and disable builtin shell commands

env      Display, set, or remove environment variables

eval     Evaluate several commands/arguments

exec     Execute a command

exit     Exit the shell

expand   Convert tabs to spaces

export   Set an environment variable

expr     Evaluate expressions

F

factor   Print prime factors

false    Do nothing, unsuccessfully

fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk

fdisk    Partition table manipulator for Linux

fgrep    Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string

find     Search for files that meet a desired criteria

fmt      Reformat paragraph text

fold     Wrap text to fit a specified width.

for      Expand words, and execute commands

format   Format disks or tapes

free     Display memory usage

fsck     Filesystem consistency check and repair.

function Define Function Macros

G

gawk     Find and Replace text within file(s)

getopts  Parse positional parameters

grep     Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern

groups   Print group names a user is in

gzip     Compress or decompress named file(s)

H

hash     Remember the full pathname of a name argument

head     Output the first part of file(s)

history  Command History

hostname Print or set system name

I

id       Print user and group id's

if       Conditionally perform a command

import   Capture an X server screen and save the image to file

info     Help info

install  Copy files and set attributes

J

join     Join lines on a common field

K

kill     Stop a process from running

L

less     Display output one screen at a time

let      Perform arithmetic on shell variables

ln       Make links between files

local    Create variables

locate   Find files

logname  Print current login name

logout   Exit a login shell

lpc      Line printer control program

lpr      Off line print

lprint   Print a file

lprintd  Abort a print job

lprintq  List the print queue

lprm     Remove jobs from the print queue

ls       List information about file(s)

M

m4       Macro processor

man      Help manual

mkdir    Create new folder(s)

mkfifo   Make FIFOs (named pipes)

mknod    Make block or character special files

more     Display output one screen at a time

mount    Mount a file system

mtools   Manipulate MS-DOS files

mv       Move or rename files or directories

N

nice     Set the priority of a command or job

nl       Number lines and write files

nohup    Run a command immune to hangups

P

passwd   Modify a user password

paste    Merge lines of files

pathchk  Check file name portability

popd     Restore the previous value of the current directory

pr       Convert text files for printing

printcap Printer capability database

printenv Print environment variables

printf   Format and print data

ps       Process status

pushd    Save and then change the current directory

pwd      Print Working Directory

Q

quota    Display disk usage and limits

quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage

quotactl Set disk quotas

R

ram      ram disk device

rcp      Copy files between two machines.

read     read a line from standard input

readonly Mark variables/functions as readonly

remsync  Synchronize remote files via email

return   Exit a shell function

rm       Remove files

rmdir    Remove folder(s)

rpm      Remote Package Manager

rsync    Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)

S

screen   Terminal window manager

sdiff    Merge two files interactively

sed      Stream Editor

select   Accept keyboard input

seq      Print numeric sequences

set      Manipulate shell variables and functions

shift    Shift positional parameters

shopt    Shell Options

shutdown Shutdown or restart linux

sleep    Delay for a specified time

sort     Sort text files

source   Run commands from a file `.'

split    Split a file into fixed-size pieces

su       Substitute user identity

sum      Print a checksum for a file

symlink  Make a new name for a file

sync     Synchronize data on disk with memory

T

tac      Concatenate and write files in reverse

tail     Output the last part of files

tar      Tape ARchiver

tee      Redirect output to multiple files

test     Evaluate a conditional expression

time     Measure Program Resource Use

times    User and system times

touch    Change file timestamps

top      List processes running on the system

traceroute Trace Route to Host

trap     Run a command when a signal is set(bourne)

tr       Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters

true     Do nothing, successfully

tsort    Topological sort

tty      Print filename of terminal on stdin

type     Describe a command

U

ulimit   Limit user resources

umask    Users file creation mask

umount   Unmount a device

unalias  Remove an alias

uname    Print system information

unexpand Convert spaces to tabs

uniq     Uniquify files

units    Convert units from one scale to another

unset    Remove variable or function names

unshar   Unpack shell archive scripts

until    Execute commands (until error)

useradd  Create new user account

usermod  Modify user account

users    List users currently logged in

uuencode Encode a binary file

uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode

V

v        Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')

vdir     Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')

W

watch    Execute/display a program periodically

wc       Print byte, word, and line counts

whereis  Report all known instances of a command   

which    Locate a program file in the user's path.

while    Execute commands

who      Print all usernames currently logged in

whoami   Print the current user id and name (`id -un')

X

xargs    Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s)

Y

yes      Print a string until interrupted

MISC

.period  Run commands from a file

###      Comment / Remark

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